Shane Beamer has special memories of Mack Brown, from both his childhood and his dad’s coaching history, which has an interesting twist to this bowl season.

Beamer shared at a Duke’s Mayo Bowl press conference that his dad Frank’s first season at Virginia Tech included a game against Mack Brown and Tulane. The Hokies lost that game 57-38 in 1987, but the younger Beamer quipped, “Hopefully this Beamer will have a little bit better success,” about the upcoming Duke’s Mayo Bowl between North Carolina and South Carolina.

In the midst of recruiting, Beamer said he’s been to 7 states recruiting and he’ll be heading to an eighth right after the presser.

Beamer added that Brown was one of the first people to call his parents to congratulate them when he got the South Carolina job. And Beamer recalled that Brown got he and his mom Duke-UNC tickets when he was a kid in Brown’s first go-around at UNC.

“It’s neat that you have sort of the ‘Battle of the Carolinas,'” Beamer said. “To be able to do it in Charlotte, a city that’s right up the Interstate from us. It’s really exciting and we couldn’t be more fired up to be a part of this.”

About the bowl game itself, Beamer clarified that RB ZaQuandre White is not definitely out for the bowl game. White and others are still making that decision, including perhaps the most high-profile player in the game, North Carolina QB Sam Howell.

H/T SportsTalkSC, Ben Portnoy.